College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

2024-25 Awardees

Aleia A. (mentored by John Hume): Assessing the level of biased and inaccurate media coverage of lampreys

Mars B. (mentored by Scott Colborne and Matt Faust): Does walleye survival vary seasonally in Lake Erie?

Phoebe B. (mentored by Amber Peters): Comparison of species composition, abundance and biomass between a marine protected area and a fished area in Sodwana, South Africa using marine BRUV analysis

Maia C. (mentored by Tom Loch): Fish health assistant: Husbandry, clinical examination and pathogen diagnoses

Grace D. (mentored by Jerry Belant and Jacob Hill): Reevaluating the quality of assessments for sustainable wildlife harvests

Shane E. (mentored by Emily Pomeranz): Human dimensions of fisheries and wildlife

Mariska H. (mentored by Cheryl Murphy): Evaluating the impacts of PFAS on fish species

Zoe K. (mentored by Tyler Buchinger): Laboratory rearing of lamprey to support genome editing research

Isabella LR. (mentored by Jeremy Hartsock): Monitoring aquatic vegetation in Corey Marsh

Regan M. (mentored by Brian Roth): Understanding foraging patterns of predatory fishes in the Great Lakes

Suri P. (mentored by Brett DeGregorio); Wildlife game camera image tagging and analysis for Snapshot USA

Megan R. (mentored by Michael Wagner): Visual tracking of migrating sea lamprey as they ascend an eel ladder

Eric S. (mentored by Fred Janzen and Caleb Krueger): Spotted turtle occurence and landscape use

Hailey W. (mentored by Alex Kuhl and Dana Infante): Mapping patterns of groundwater fluctuations and geochemical anomalies at CMERC

Jaylyn W. (mentored by Steven Gray): Monitoring wildlife for Snapshot USA and assisting with CRU activities

Delsin W. (mentored by Scott Colborne and Doug Larson): Constructing a database to examine long-term trends in a lake sturgeon population under restoration

Kate W. (mentored by Jen Owen): Corey Marsh species inventory and diet study of migratory birds

2023-24 Awardees

Rachel B. (mentored by Brian Roth): Predatory fish diets in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan

Griffin B. (mentored by Brett DeGregorio): Wildlife game camera image tagging and analysis for Snapshot USA

Jack B. (mentored by Jerry Belant and Abby Bennett): Impact of the Nepal Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve on the food security of local communities

Dennis E. (mentored by Angela Burrow): Computer-assisted pattern recognition for gopher frogs

Erin G. (mentored by Tom Loch): Fish husbandry, clinical examination, and in vivo lab research

Xochitl G. (mentored by Michael Wagner): Unraveling the mystery of how sea lamprey migrate in the deep, cold waters of Lake Huron

Vivian G. (mentored by Amber Peters): Comparison of species composition, abundance and biomass between a marine protected area and a fished area in Sodwana, South Africa using marine BRUV analysis

Adalyn H. (mentored by John Hume): Understanding what larval lamprey feed on and how they do it

Sarah H. (mentored by Tom Loch): Bacterial and viral pathogen diagnoses in fish

Maggie J. (mentored by Michael Wagner): Unraveling the mystery of how sea lamprey migrate in the deep, cold waters of Lake Huron

Caleb O. (mentored by Angela Burrow): Exploring the role of integrated plant-animal systems in ecological restoration

Camryn R. (mentored by Steve Gray and Gary Roloff): Bat detector and forest management data analyses

Allison S. (mentored by Mark Axelrod and Abby Bennett): Climate change and inland fisheries adaptation

Walter S. (mentored by Brett DeGregorio): Wildlife usage of muskrat lodges

2022-23 Awardees

Avery A. (mentored by Tom Loch): Aquatic animal health within the Great Lakes basin (focusing on fish husbandry, tissue processing, and in vivo lab research)

Griffin B. (mentored by Brian Roth): Fish demographics at Corey Marsh Ecological Research Center

Ben E. (mentored by Steve Gray and Gary Roloff): Assisting with vegetation data analysis for a ruffed grouse project in the Upper Peninsula

Isabel G. (mentored by Jerry Belant): Role of wild animal harvest toward nutritional security

Sam K. (mentored by Sonja Christensen and Steven Gurney): White-tailed deer demographics in Central Michigan

Aaron P. (mentored by Jen Owen): Diet study of migratory birds  

Mark P. (mentored by Tom Loch): Aquatic animal health within the Great Lakes basin (focusing on diagnostic techniques for bacterial and viral pathogens of fish)

Mackena R. (mentored by Jerry Belant): Development of artificial intelligence models for wildlife species identification

Braydon S. (mentored by Mary Tate Bremigan): Perch Lake monitoring and outreach to lake residents

2021-22 Awardees

Quinn B. (mentored by Steve Gray and Gary Roloff): Tracking wood turtles to assess effects of private forest management in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

Kelly C. (mentored by Jen Owen): Monitoring animal and plant communities as part of a long-term ecological study at the Corey Marsh Ecological Research Center

Corbin H. (mentored by Jean Tsao): Small mammal trapping and tick surveillance at Corey Marsh Ecological Research Center

Katie K. (mentored by Sonja Christensen and Steven Gurney): Reviewing trail camera photos to estimate wildlife abundance and population characteristics

Laura L. (mentored by Jared Ross and Dana Infante): Improving spatial accuracy of data characterizing spawning and nursery habitats important for Great Lakes fishes

Sarah M. (mentored by Brian Roth): Analyzing benthic invertebrate samples to assess impacts of invasive red swamp crayfish on the surrounding ecosystem

Brady Y. (mentored by Tom Loch): Learning fish husbandry and testing fish for bacterial pathogens using molecular assays